Joint Opinion 89-157 and 90-07

January 18, 1990

Digest:         A part-time judge, who is a member of the local school board, must resign immediately from the school board.

Rules:          22 NYCRR 100.7; 100.5(h).

Opinion:

         Two part-time judges, who were elected to their local school boards, inquire whether they should resign from the school boards immediately or wait until the end of the school year or the term of office.

         In Opinion 88-142, this committee determined that, in light of the prohibition against judges campaigning for other elective offices by section 100.7 of the Rules of the Chief Administrator (22 NYCRR 100.7), a part-time judge should not seek election to the local board of education without resigning from the judicial office.

         Although the judges here already have been elected to the school boards, and election no longer is an issue, the Committee nevertheless believes that the judges should resign immediately, because the Committee deems a position on the school board to be one that may involve dealing with quasi-political and highly controversial issues, and therefore is incompatible with holding judicial office under the provisions of Section 100.5(h) of the Rules of Chief Administrator (22 NYCRR 100.5[h]).